There's no denying how big a problem mental is

Kim asked me how I do against Pierce. My answer was a bit of a cop out really. I said I typically lose, but I win when I buckle down and play a concentrated game. In truth, I hate playing against Pierce because he hits wildly at the ball as hard as he can which then lures me into hitting it equally hard just to have him block the ball into the front wall or mishit it into the front wall. The rallies are extremely unpredictable and hard for me to control or dictate.

Unfortunately I lost the same way to Rita yesterday. Was it because I ran a mile, played Richard and Keith in the morning and then played Ken and Norm just before my match? Probably so, even so I should find a way to keep my composure and know how best to play. Did I even know I was over hitting the ball? I think I was aware of it for fractions of the games, but certainly not long enough to string together a few shots together using the proper tempo. I did not just give up, but I definitely did not play in my most calm, relaxed, but intense game.

Playing the 4.0 and up and coming opponents, the one common trait they all exhibit is the aggressive start and attacking my serve. Many of them attack my serve if the ball is short of misses the side wall all together. Under this kind of pressure, I start to tighten up on my serve and make more errors and think more about the serve and lose focus on the rally. When I'm relaxed, my serve gets better I don't concentrate so much on it and I see the returns clearly and gets into the rally much better.

i think I have to still work on the following:

1. relaxing on the serve and swing up and through the ball over my shoulder
2. don't be afraid to retrieve the short balls
3. don't let my footwork be rushed
4. change up the tempo/pace and height: my shots tend to land on the service box when I drive the ball low and fast - gives my opponent plenty of time to move to the ball and hit a winner.
5. don't quit the rally, no matter how hard it is to get to the ball! I have become a lazier person since improving my game.
6. stay away from the back wall and make sure my back is never parallel to it.
7. stay light on my toes which in turns skip in and out of my shots.